Wed 10 Oct 2007
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How many more times do Ranger fans have to go to the Mausoleum only to watch the officials hand a game to the Fishsticks?
The answer is: You Don’t!
The attendance in Nassau was over 15,000 tonight. I will bet my first born that over half of the fans were wearing Ranger jersies. It’s all well and good to support your team. But, last season and already starting this season, the officials have done their best to hand the Islanders games by calling the most ridiculous penalties. The Islander were given three 5 on 3’s powerplays on ludicrous calls.
Shanahan’s stick was being slashed, yet he gets a holding the stick penalty. Roszival get a boarding penalty for finishing a check. Ryan Callahan gets yanked down from behind and gets called for diving. This officiating is disgraceful.
Let’s run some numbers. We play the Fish 4 times at Nassau. Conservatively, if we put 4000 fans in seats at an average cost of $45.00 per seat, that’s $180,000. Times that by 4 games and you get $720,000. That’s about what they are paying Bryan Berard, who scored the game winning goal on the second 5 on 3.
If the Rangers are going to get penalized for clean checks, Ranger fans should penalize the Islanders, the NHL and their incompetant officials by not writing their checks to see the ice get tilted in Uniondale.
Vote with your wallets. Stop driving revenue to the Islander franchise. Your dollars help keep this franchise afloat.
Just Say NO!
Stay the hell home!
October 11th, 2007 at 8:43 am
you cry worse than avery and shanny getting a penalty called on them… next time tell gomez to hit an open net on one of your 5 on 3’s.
October 11th, 2007 at 9:05 am
ludicrous calls?!?!? please you cant breathe on Jagirl without getting called for sexual discrimination. Face it, we shut down that high powered offense you have with that 0-16 PP, 0-2007 is more like it. The Queen only had to stop 1/2 the shots as the Great Rick, yet couldnt do it.
You unobjective view is something to laugh at. I’ll come back and read when you can recognize good hockey beating your team. Just like a typical Ranger fan making excuses for your teams failures instead if tipping your hat at the better team last night.
Like the analyst on VS said. The Islanders played a great game without making mistakes while the rangers made plenty of them.
October 11th, 2007 at 9:05 am
M, I have a lot of respect for you and I remember you calling into my radio show last year, so I think you have some respect for me, so I’ll be straight to the point.
You are out of your mind.
Last time I checked, the Rangers had plenty of opportunities to put that game away on the powerplay and how many times did Marc-Andre Bergeron cough up the puck during even strength?
The fact of the matter is both teams got screwed last night by the refs and the Isles took advantage and the Rangers didn’t. End of discussion. If you should be mad at someone, it should be Brendan Shanahan, who couldn’t put a rebound in DP in the first period, or Jagr who couldn’t handle Brendan Witt.
This slanted, poor excuse for writing isn’t fair to the impartial and knowledgeable Rangers fans that never get their voices heard. Any half-witted fan could have seen that the refs hurt both teams last night.
By being so skewed and not showing any type of fairness to the other side, your blog has absolutely no credibility and is a haven for loser fans that don’t understand the sport.
I hope you understand that sooner than later.
October 11th, 2007 at 9:37 am
Charles Wang has enough money to meet payroll that an extra $700,000 a season effects nothing. If you want to go see your team play in Nassau feel free, you’re not keeping anything afloat, you’re just supporting your team.
Now, in regards to the ice supposedly being tilted. Did you happen to see the playoff series between the Isles and Buffalo last year? If you did, you would have noticed that several key goals that the Islanders scored were waived off at key points. There is no one trying to help the New York Islanders win the game wearing stripes or in Toronto. There is no mandate to have the Rangers lose to the Islanders, in fact it behooves the league to have a successful team in Manhattan.
The Rangers have only themselves to look in the mirror last night after the loss. If they score just ONE power play goal they may walk away with points in the game and they had 6 power play opportunities including a 5 on 3.
Or how about the odd defensive alignment with 3 seconds left in the first period. What in the world are the Rangers doing lining up a defensman behind the face off in the closing seconds of the period? You must line that defenseman up next to Bergeron. If the Rangers win the draw into the corner, the puck skitters harmlessly away and the period ends. If the Rangers lose the faceoff they have the defenseman that can tie up Bergeron in his persuit of the puck for the 3 seconds it takes to end the period.
The Islanders sold out their first two games and have plenty of fan support. They have a fan base known for their intense knowledge and utter devotion to the team, and a fan base that is very involved with the franchise. The Islander have a very neighborhood mentality that turns off many Ranger fans who have a big city mentality and view the Isles and small time, but the relationship the Islanders have with their fans is unique and certainly special in the world of sports as a big business.
October 11th, 2007 at 10:21 am
That works both ways. Islander fans have been out in big numbers at Msg too. Your only real sellouts come against the Islanders, Devils and Flyers unless it’s a weekend. Opposing fans owned Msg last season worse than ever.
Hint, it was Islander fans chanting ” you can’t beat us last year loud and clear inside Msg. Islander fans were loud in that building all four games last year keeping Dolan’s franchise witthout Cablevision going to the bank.
Countless articles like this from your own writers.
http://www.nypost.com/sev…_rangers_larry_brooks.htm
NO ISLE-USION
RENNEY ERUPTS AFTER RANGERS LOSS
“You Can’t Beat Us!” the vocal contingent of Islander fans in the building taunted the Blueshirts, and they were correct.
Botton line without the Islanders you may not have a franchise. Without the Islanders rivalry you would have been relocated to New Jersey back in the 80’s.
Just be grateful we brought the Stanley Cup to New York for the fans and showed them what championship hockey was about.
October 11th, 2007 at 10:52 am
Your blog is an absolute joke, you have to be kidding me with this garbage. Are the Rangers supposed to have their own special rules. Granted the officiating was not good (for both teams) but if you are not going to score on the PP chances you are given you don’t deserve to win. The 5,000 or so Rangers fans who show up to these games do NOT keep any franchise afloat. Please get over yourself and enjoy the rest of the season.
October 11th, 2007 at 10:58 am
I think I can safely speak for the great majority of Islander supporters, both on Long Island and from afar, when I say:
Yes, please, STAY THE HELL HOME!!
Then, Islander fans should be able to fill their own building with real fans (other than the corporate phoneys at Ranger games to constitute their paper sellouts) who won’t have go to Nassau with the fear of being taunted, threatened, etc. with vile obscenities and the like from the lowest of the low grade of the NHL’s fans (maybe except Toronto fans in Montreal and Ottawa.)
Ranger fans paint themselves and their franchise as God’s Gift to Hockey. Not even close - get over yourselves!!
October 11th, 2007 at 11:24 am
I’m not sure where to start with this posting..
First of all….having Ranger fans at NVMC and Isles fans at MSG is what makes these games great. You want to have some fan intensity during the game (as long at its respectable banter between the two sets of fans).
Second. Why would you ask for fans of your team not to come out and support your team in any market? I’m sure it’s hard for a Ranger fan living in Dix Hills to go to MSG and NVMC is easier (I live in Baltimore and I see my Isles in DC when I can).
3rd. I don’t think you should start spouting out about owners and franchises. Dolan and company aren’t exactly knights in shining armour (unless you consider paying off judgements against them and the people they hire).
I’m humble enough to say that the Attendance and fan base of the Islanders pales in comparison to the Rangers. This is due to a few things, one of which is a stigma that the Isles franchise has for some of their moves over the past 10 years. But let’s not get too overboard. While the boxscore may say 18,200 for all 41 Ranger home games, lets count how many of those fans came dressed as empty seats? What’s worse, a ticket not purchased or one purchased but not used….think about it..
The Isles/Ranger rivalry is special to both the area and NHL. There is no reason to bash it…embrace it……
October 11th, 2007 at 12:05 pm
Wow…are you…blaming the refs for your loss? I thought Rangers fans NEVER did that!?!
Tough luck Missy. Better luck next time.
October 11th, 2007 at 1:07 pm
you are incorrect..the islanders were 60 and rangers 40 at the NVMC..you guys hate on our building but were there to play hockey. dont come to our games we do not care..we go to MSG. The game was won by the Islanders and the rangers could not keep up with us so they had to resort to penalities and we all know that there are calls that are incorrect it is hockey. In the past i think the rangers have the most power plays. You are probaly not going to post this but that just proves that you are close minded. all the rangers fan is that we gonna be out the league but were not.. we have more history than the rangers do.. the 1994 oilers were not the rangers and they brought the cup yes they did. Also…you have 4 cups….3 of those were when there were only 6 teams..so what is your deal you have blog but your just mad you lost. The rangers fan i work with said we played good and we deserve to win
October 11th, 2007 at 1:13 pm
lady or who ever you are ..u r nuts . i just really read your blog…so when we beat at MSG last year the ice was tilted. .are you serious or just a loser or just mad you spent all this money on a team that only looks good on paper . you should knowhaving to many stars on your team doesnt win cups. but after we beat you again this year like last year ..just call the suicide hotline b/c it sounds like you are gonna jump real soon
October 11th, 2007 at 2:44 pm
Here’s an outline of what these Islander fans need to remember:
Rangers sell out every game
Avery is a player everyone wants
Never underestimate Lundqvist
Great players want to play at MSG
Everyone loves the Blueshirts
Renney is taking the boys all the way
Shanahan is a hall of famer
Sell some tickets, then we’ll talk
Understand the power of Straka
Can you stop Jagr long term? NO
Keep your chin up, you’ll win one day
October 11th, 2007 at 3:08 pm
Then dont go to the nvmc.
October 11th, 2007 at 5:06 pm
The VS announcers called both Callahan dive a ‘curious’ call, and both the Shanahan 5-3 (with a face-off in would not otherwise have been in the Ranger end - resulting in goal 1) a bad call and the Betts 5-3 call a very ’soft’ call.
When your team can’t score more than one goal, it’s hard to lay all the blame on the officials but the officials did suck.
Hats off to DP, but lay off the Queen.
October 11th, 2007 at 5:11 pm
Why the hell are you jackass Fishstix fans coming to a Rangers fan’s blog in the 1st place? Just to gloat about finally having a somewhat decent team for the first time in God knows how long?! Or is it just that even your own fans don’t want you commenting on theirs? Either way, when more than 500 true fans show up at that dreaded arena, and maybe after a few more games when one win can determine the difference between 1st and last place in the divison then get up on your high horses. For now get the hell out of here.
October 11th, 2007 at 7:48 pm
Well Well. To you Islander fans who so graciously submitted comments,I thank you. Apparently, I hit a nerve. That wasn’t my intent but hey, whatever.
You are addressing your comments to a person, who, after the Rangers 3rd playoff game against Buffalo, stood on 33rd street and berated the officials coming out of the Garden for calling a terrible game and tried to hand the game to “ordained” Sabres.
I also had a feature here called “Whistle Watch” wherein I turned up the headlights on the officials and tracked who was calling how many penalties league wide. After seeing one team of refs call 23 penatlies in the opening round out West and snother pair call 3 in an Eastern Conference game, it was time to ask what’s up.
Ryan Callahan was yanked down from behind and get a diving call? Roszival get clled for boarding? Roszvial doesn’t swat flies.
As far as not having any credibility, the empty suits on Versus saw exactly what I saw a spoke to it. You are thusly saying that the commentators on the NHL’s chosen media outlet have no credibility either.
To Patrick Hickey,
You are forgetting one thing. This is not a newspaper. I am not a reporter. This is a blog. It’s Op/Ed here. I can be as partial as I want. If you don’t like it, don’t read it! I would venture a guess that I am old enough to be your parent. I was watching NHL hockey long before you were born.
Islander fans and Islander players should practice what they preach. Instead, all you can do is send out your headhunters like Andy Sutton and Chris Simon to concuss and two hand opponents. And you then go on to defend and make excuses for your goons.
By the way, I can’t wait to see Charlie Wang behind bars like his buddy Sanjay for his financial malfeasance.
Lastly, any team that has to have scantily clad Ice Sluts to draw in a crowd objectifies women. Nice example to set for your children.
I’m a Ranger fan. I live in Suffolk County. I have a full season ticket for the last two seasons after having partial plans for many years. I drag my ass into the Garden and I spend my money on the New York Rangers. In my opinion, that’s what all Ranger fans should do, not spend it in Nassau.
October 11th, 2007 at 7:55 pm
Dear Dan,
I don’t.
October 11th, 2007 at 9:08 pm
Scott, Dunc, Go Blue,
Love You!
October 11th, 2007 at 10:06 pm
Once again, yes, the rags fans were screaming for their team before and during. But it was the ISLANDERS fans…that was dancing and singing at the end. Hey, did Gomez and Drury play lastnight…I didn’t see them.
October 11th, 2007 at 10:32 pm
Rangers sell out every game (yeah wallstreet)
Avery is a player everyone wants(..head on mantal. yes)
Never underestimate Lundqvist(Queen Lundquist, how sweet)
Great players want to play at MSG(..just like older people go to Florida to retire)
Everyone loves the Blueshirts(LOL)
Renney is taking the boys all the way(in your dreams)
Shanahan is a hall of famer(and u act like he was there his whole career, please)
Sell some tickets, then we’ll talk(actually two sellouts this year, not one a rag game)
Understand the power of Straka(hmmm.were was he last year against us, and this year so far)
Can you stop Jagr long term? NO(did pretty well last year, and last night too)
Keep your chin up, you’ll win one day (how many did you win in a row again)
October 12th, 2007 at 12:06 pm
I would never put your blog in the same classification as a newspaper M. Like I said, I respect you and your love of the game a lot, I just think that when you go off like this, you and your blog lose credibility. That’s all.
October 12th, 2007 at 12:48 pm
Nothing would make me happier than having the Ranger fans stay home. They’re the only ones who have ever given me any trouble in the building. Please do not discuss Mr. Wang and his business because we can drag up a ton of unethical dealings on the Dolan clan.
You can certainly be unhappy with the loss, you can certainly say whatever you wish in this forum. But you can’t expect to say it in a vacuum.
October 12th, 2007 at 1:08 pm
M, you really did stir up the hornets nest. I must say that although there were bad calls, they went both ways and the Rangers had their chances and did not capitalize. As for the Isles fans, pretty much what I expected with the comments. People need to remember you are a FAN, who is expressing her opinion, not a writer being paid for objective reporting and I always look forward to reading what you are feeling about the team. Keep on blogging and LET’S GO RANGERS!
October 12th, 2007 at 1:20 pm
i heard the ice is gonna be tilted tonight..you better get over there and fix it…hurry up game time is coming.
Everytime the rangers lose
“the ice is tilted”
ok i m done..blame your team for losing not outside aspects that had nothing to do with it
you had gomez,drury,shan,jagr and someone on your PP and didnt score on a 5 on 3..thats 30million on the ice at once..i apologize for my negative comments but look at the real reason for losing.
October 12th, 2007 at 1:30 pm
Once again, Broadway Blueskirt fans whining about officiating because their team lost. It never ends. The arrogance, complacency and ignorance is forever flowing worse than the cheap beer they sell at that compost facility they call the Garden.
m hurley says, the officials “handed the game” to our Islanders. I guess they also made the puck flutter on end when Gomez had an open net. That’s hockey. I’m sick and tired of reading garbage form mental case who think they know this great sport because they happen to follow a team. Yes, I’m a know it all. Learn the game before you make a fool of yourself.
I’ve even heard knowledgeable Ranger fans put the blame on Gomez for that play. The puck was on edge, and had he rushed to settle it down or bring it closer to his body, the opportunity would have been lost. Game of inches. There’s 7 more of these games. Should my Islanders win the majority of them, I expect more drivel and clueless excuses from this sham of a blog.
Good luck.
October 12th, 2007 at 4:12 pm
Margaret,
Nice to talk to you live. I may not 100% like the types of comments, but your knowledge of the game is good. I totally understand that you watch ‘just on the Rangers’, but in my honest opinion, to be a better fan (I know you are a great fan of your team - that is not the point) of the game, I think you should look at BOTH sides of the coin. I will will berate when something is wrong, but I will definitely act in the converse, if it is right…
The Rags got called on things they maybe should not have, but it also went the other way around. I can accept it - you should too. That is what I think bothers people. And I know that Islander fans are not immune from this too. Their glasses can be as rosy as the others. All I would try to do - is be as fan, but as objective as I can.
Again - thanks for coming on the show. You were insightful and brought some yuks, which the show can always use. Call in anytime…
Have a good weekend!
Gary
March 6th, 2008 at 10:49 pm
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